Chapter 19

• [Amanda]
• We sat there for a few minutes, in absolute silence. I let him absorb whatever I had implied in my earlier statement. He looked distant, thoughtful, and I let him be. The coffee had turned cold, tasting bitter and bland. I placed the unfinished beverage back on the coffee table. The clinking of the porcelain cup on the glass top made him look at me. 
• “You...are no longer in touch with your family?” his sudden question wasn’t intrusive but just a mere attempt to fill in the information gap. I debated whether I should give the correct answer or merely lie like I was used to. The lie, however, did not slip out my lips.